The Hogwartians
by BewareOfFlyingMonkeys
Summary: I was up for a new start and a new life. I wanted to sink into anonymity and lose myself. But they wouldn't let me. They were chaotic. They were nosy. They were unscrupulous. They were the marauders. A Sirius/OC and a bit of LE/JP.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I am not J K Rowling and therefore do not own Harry potter or any of the other cannon characters.

Five Professors sat in front of me, looking at me expectantly. In my hands I held a tattered hat- Godric Gryffindor's. I wished that I had a little more privacy at this stage. Was I actually supposed to do this here?

"Please sit Miss Megh", said my new headmaster looking just as he had when he'd waved at me out of my first chocolate frog card.

I didn't sit down. It made me uncomfortable. Back in my old school we were taught not to before the Professors did. As if sensing this Professor Dumbledore sat down behind his desk and the rest of them followed his lead. I sat on the rickety three legged stool offered to me and put the Sorting Hat on my head.

I waited- nothing happened. I opened my mouth to tell them that something was wrong- when it spoke. "Parineeta is an unusual name", it said.

"Indian" I whispered.

"Of course. You don't need to tell me that. I can see it all in your head Ms. Megh. The good things and the band things and-", it's voice shook, " the terrible things."

I gripped the stool on both sides hard. My knuckles turned white.

"You have loyalty yes, but you are not stupid. You know when to take a friend's side and when to turn your back. I'm very inclined to place you in Ravenclaw. You have a good brain and you crave knowledge. You also have the Ravenclaw pride. Slytherin won't do for you nor will Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff's are content with being content. An admirable trait don't you agree? And a certain degree of selflessness that, no offense, you lack. I don't think you will stop at contentment, will you? So where does that leave us? Ravenclaw seems to be the logical choice. "

I made a move to take the hat of my head. It wouldn't be a moment too soon. It's musings were- to say the least- disturbing and the fact that it could read my mind was not only unsettling- it was downright _dangerous_.

"Wait!" the hat said and I reluctantly stopped. The tone of its voice was peculiar, almost _giddy._

"I'll take a gamble._"_ It said in the same tone of voice. "I can't see the future but I do sense possibilities. It will be GRYFFINDOR! ". It shouted the last word out loud. It went limp on my head and I pulled it off, I was glad that the talking hat's monologue was over.

Professor Dumbledore beamed. It was as if my sorting had been the most joyous occasion he had witnessed for a year.

"Professor Mcgonagall ", he said. " I believe you get Ms. Megh ". He inclined his head to a tall thin woman. Her profile was stern and rigid but she smiled and her welcoming smile was genuine.

"These are the other heads of houses", Professor Dumbledore addressed me and I stood up. He introduced me to them. The head of Ravenclaw was also the charms Professor, Professor Flitwick, a dwarf-like man with white hair and a beard. The head of Hufflepuff was a woman, Professor Sprout who taught herbology. She had flyaway gray hair and her fingers were stained with mud. And last the round, jovial looking man was the head of Slytherin. He also taught potions.

Professor Mcgonagall handed me a slip of paper. "This has your password on it. Come on now Ms. Megh."

I tensed. I wanted my transition into this new school to be as inconspicuous as possible. Definitely a hard task. I was joining at the beginning of the seventh year. People were bound to ask questions and I had to be evasive.

"Just a few more things", said Professor Dumbledore. "Your Charms and Potions seem to be at a more advanced level than needed for your N.E.W.T.s. ". It should be since I was training to be a healer. We did specialised training back in beaxbatons, fourth year onwards after three years of general studies. I had just given my owls the year before. The system was poles apart at Hogwarts.

"Your Transfiguration borders on acceptable. I'm sure you will catch up." I grimaced. Transfiguration was one of my weaker subjects and as a true aspiring healer I hated this reminder of my weakness. But worse was yet to come.

"Your Defence Against The Dark Arts however need a lot of work." I kept my face expressionless. As a healer I'd never had to study Defence. Which of course had ultimately been my undoing. Not knowing how to fight, how to defend myself had put me in the position I was that day. And since I made no move to complete my incomplete education, my father had apparently taken the matter in his own hands and Professor Dumbledore was probably doing him a favour by placing me in a class I was clearly unqualified for.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half moon glasses like who knew exactly what I was thinking. He was kind of reassuring. He seemed to be a really nice guy.

"Of course Professor, I'll do my best", I recited dutifully.

"And of course we should let Ms. Megh find her own way to the common room." I tried not to let my relief show as Professor Mcgonagall gave me directions. I thanked the heads and wondered if they knew about my . . . history. It seemed probable and this thought did not make me any less uncomfortable.

Still, I left the office optimistic. Hogwarts had a larger student body than Beauxbatons- almost triple. Maybe I'd slip in without much ado, fit in as part of the routine. Maybe no one would notice one more girl in their classes, one more girl sitting with them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

One could hope.

I was supposed to take the second left and go down two flights of stairs. I was halfway down the first flight when the entire thing moved. I lurched afraid and held the railing tightly with both hands as the entire thing shifted itself to another corridor. All around me similar movements were performed by the other flights of stairs. Nobody else was around. The curfew was at ten and it was ten-oh-five. The corridor I was supposed to be in was diagonally opposite but if the staircases of Hogwarts moved around often I really couldn't be sure if I was right.

So what was I supposed to do?

I decided to go down one more flight. That way I'd at least be on the same level my new common room supposedly was.

I ran down the nearest flight of stairs but when I reached the third to last one my foot sank right into it and I lurched to a stop. I tried to pull myself out but my foot just sank in further. It was now up to mid calf.

Tears of frustration sprang to my eyes and I took deep breaths trying to keep the hysteria at bay. But I was just so _hard_. I was bright, hardworking and capable. I had had I very promising future ahead of me. For almost eighteen years of life I had gone without a blemish on my record. So how did it come to this?

Here I was. Expelled from the school I'd studied in for six years. Fresh out of a broken engagement. And it was the first day of my new school and I had already broken curfew. I had no idea where my new common room was or how I was to get to it. And to top it all off, my foot was stuck in the middle of the staircase.

So I did something I was not very proud of. I sat down and started bawling. I was tired and nervous and my leg hurt. Things couldn't have gotten worse. Then it did.

I thought that there was no one there to see me.

I was wrong.

We saw each other at the same time. He was sauntering with a bit of parchment in one hand. He didn't seem surprised to see me but I was pretty surprised to see him. His pace was slow and almost luxurious, like it wasn't after curfew and he had no reason to hurry.

But he did seem very uncomfortable with the tears. I was mortified. Seems I had another thing to add to my list of grievances.

I quickly wiped my eyes with the sleeves of my robes and when I looked up I saw that he had offered me a white handkerchief but seeing I was done, he put it back.

"Need help there?" he indicated to where my leg was trapped.

"Yes please", I said. But my grip immediately tightened on my wand. I had definitely learned from past experiences. In this new school I was definitely not going to be little red riding hood lost in the woods. He walked up to the second last step and using both hands, he hoisted me up.

For that one moment we were so close that I could smell him and I took an involuntary deep breath. Mint. And. . . . Soap? Not one of those masculine ones but one of those 'unscented' ones that did have a very faint fragrance.

So close that if I tilted my head up ever so slightly I could look into his eyes. So light that they looked gray.

So close that if I tilted my head down I saw his lips. His extremely kissable lips and the stubble made it even more appealing.

In other words- too close for comfort.

I tightened my grip on my wand and my knuckles turned white.

Dark hair that he kept much too long. He was around an inch or two taller than me. He had strong features and a well defined jaw line. Very attractive.

Very very attractive.

He took a step back. My wand was poking him in the ribs.

"Sorry", I said. But even though I shifted it slightly I didn't loosen my grip.

He looked at me curiously. He was waiting for something.

"Thank you." I said.

He dismissed that. "You're welcome"

We stood facing each other in awkward silence. He had a slightly haughty expression on his face. It wasn't offensive or anything. It seemed to be an unconscious thing.

Well somebody had to break the silence.

"Could you- Could you show me where the Gryffindor Common Room is?"

Getting help was preferable to wandering around without a clue looking for the damn corridor.

He relaxed slightly perhaps relived that I didn't look like I was going to burst into tears again. He relaxed and started walking. Presumably leading me to the elusive corridor that housed the entrance of my new common room.

"Gryffindor ?", he asked. "Bit late aren't you?".

I couldn't figure out if he meant late that day since it was almost three hours since the starting of the year feast, or late in my education years considering I couldn't even be mistaken for someone younger than seventeen. In fact I had turned eighteen three months ago.

I decided to just assume the later. "Failed the first six times." I said and shrugged with one of those 'what can you do?' expressions.

"Honestly." He frowned. "Isn't seventh year a bit late?"

"I'm a transfer." I said.

There was a pause as he waited for me to elaborate. Again.

Which I didn't. Again.

He stopped suddenly and I panicked. The grip on my wand tightened again and I raised it about half an inch. Luckily he didn't seem to notice as he gestured to a portrait in front of us. The painter had depicted a middle aged lady of voluminous proportions dressed in pale pink silk.

"Password?", she asked pleasantly.

That was my cue.

"Uh. . . ", I scrambled for the piece of paper." Right. . . Polyjuice Potion."

"Friend of yours, Love?" she said as she swung open. Took me a moment to figure out that she was talking to the boy.

"New student Fanny", he said as a circular entryway was revealed. "Ladies first.", he said with a gallant flourish and as I climbed through it I could feel the portraits curious eyes following me.

Please review. Constructive critisism appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

The Gryffindor common room was a roundish, cosy looking place. To one corner was huge fireplace that bathed the entire room and its occupants in a golden glow. While the place looked welcoming in general, there was a pandemonium inside. Everyone's attention was focused on a boy and girl at the far side of the room. And for good reason. Their wands were out and pointed at each other. The boy seemed to be on defensive while she was clearly on the offensive. I had never seen a duel before.

"How dare you Potter! Why the hell would you do that?" She shot a spell at him that he deflected. Potter. I thought. Jane Potter's son?

"I told you Lil! It was a dare! Padfoot dared me to do it!"

"Don't call me that!" she screamed, aiming another jinx at him.

"Fine! Sorry! Evans. ", he said, deflecting it.

"Turn him back. NOW!" She gestured to the chair beside her which was occupied by a small brown mouse.

"Give me a minute. Will you? Let Padfoot see this" he said looking around, scanning the room for somebody.

"Oi Prongs!" called the boy next to me.

"Satisfied Padfoot?" asked James Potter aka . . . . . Prongs? And Padfoot. Obviously foreign. Anyway who was I to judge? People thought my name was weird.

"Sure thi-" he stopped short.

Evans' jinx had caught James off guard. He hit the wall behind him, with a thud and slid down, lying near the fireplace. Limp.

Evans hands flew to her mouth. "James!" she cried, running towards him. But someone got there first.

Me.

I heard the crowd mutter as I knelt down near him and I heard the outraged gasps as I stuck my hand under his shirt to check his heartbeat and knelt down with my ear against his chest, listening to his breathing. His breath tickled my ear and when I rested the tips of my fingers against his carotid artery in his neck, his skin was warm against mine. I pulled back his eyelids and he seemed fine. Just knocked out.

His vitals seemed fine.

"Get off him!" said Evans. Behind me I could hear the background music courtesy of the girls in the in the common room. _Hostile ._

It got worse when I ran my fingers through his hair . I found a painful looking bump and I tapped it till it shrank to non existence. Then I sat back. Satisfied.

"Ennervate". I brought him back to consciousness.

"Lily?" he groaned.

Evans knelt next to me and stroked his hair in a soothing manner.

"Something wrong with this picture" somebody muttered. I looked behind in surprise. Padfoot had apparently followed me.

"James?"She said, "I'm so sorry for hurting you. "

"And I'm sorry for turning your boyfriend into a mouse."

She blinked. "Will someone turn him back please?"

There was a pause. I wasn't really good at transfiguration. But she hadn't asked me personally so I guess I was off the hook.

"I'll do it" said another boy. Tall with dark brown hair. He was really good looking but there were shadows under his eyes like he could use a good night's sleep. Or maybe a couple.

He waved his wand in some complicated motion that I couldn't really follow and muttered the incantation. Nothing happened.

Lily had helped James into a sitting position and he was now leaning against her. After watching the brown haired boy's failed attempt , she pushed him and got up quickly. Her movements were agitated. "He's stuck!" she cried wringing her hands. "My boyfriend is a mouse!"

"Don't worry Evans" grinned James scrambling up. I reached out, worried that he would hurt himself if he took it too fast but I held back. I didn't want to get involved in what promised to be a full sized brawl.

James apparently didn't see the storm on the horizon. Which was funny because it seemed to be a well practised routine.

"I'll keep you company. " he grinned.

"And we're back to normal" muttered Padfoot.

"You git! If anything happens to Tyler-" Lily began.

The brown haired boy sighed. "Don't get hysterical Lily " he said "James deserves the hexing but we're in a school full a great witches and wizards . Nothing will happen to Tyler" he reminded her.

"Right thanks." She exhaled.

The boy turned to the mouse again. Same wand movement. Same incantation. This time it worked. And the mouse was a boy crouched on the chair.

His cheeks were pink. He was embarrassed. And for obvious reasons. I felt sorry for him. He chose to ignore everybody else. "Coming Lily?" he said, running his fingers through his blond hair. He didn't even look at James or his friends. Understandable.

"In a minute." Lily said. She was looking for something. A moment later I realised that she was looking for James' glasses. Right their relationship seemed to defy all logic. Weren't they just fighting?

Tyler huffed and walked out. James bit back a smile.

"Here" I said picking it up and handing it to her.

She took it from me without looking at me. Fine.

"Also tell one of his dorm mates to wake him up every hour. I don't think he has a concussion but any disorientation or other weird behaviour – within forty eight hors should be reported to me. Or your matron" I said as an afterthought.

This time she looked at me as if re-assessing something.

"Sure thing." Padfoot said.

I closed my eyes and tried to summon my healers' kit. I was sure my bags were there somewhere. It came zooming down the staircase on the left. I opened it and gave him a small vial.

"If he does- and he will- complain of a headache-" I started.

"I'm here you know", piped up James. "I can hear what you're saying."

"You hardly seem the responsible type", I retorted. "I think you're better off if I give this to your friend."

"You think Padfoot is more responsible than I am? Give it to Moony, at least I'll be safe."

I ignored him and continued "- give him half of this."

"Don't you think we should show him to Pomfrey? " Evans asked Padfoot.

"Do you know what you're doing? " He asked me.

"Yes!" I said indignantly.

He shrugged. "Then it's fine."

Aware of all the people looking at me, I gathered my kit and almost fled up the stairs.

I woke up at four in the morning. I didn't need an alarm clock, I invariably woke up around that time. A result of my nightmares. I pushed aside my hangings and got out of bed. Last night I'd cast a modified silencing charm effectively sound proofing my bed. A necessary precaution considering I woke up screaming more often than I fell asleep.

My dorm mates , four of them , were still in bed. I hadn't met them yet, I had closed my curtains and pretended to be asleep when they trooped in last night. I wasn't in the mood for introductions. With the whole fiasco the night before, transferring at the start of the seventh year and my long black hair, chocolaty brown complexion and dark eyes, had already set me apart.

It was strange sharing a room with so many girls. Back in Beauxbatons, it had been just me and my best friend and roommate Arya.

One luxurious hot shower later I dried off, wore my uniform and did my hair up again I went down to the common room where everything was spick and span. It was clearly cleaned at night. I didn't want to hang around till breakfast but I was scared that if I ventured out I'd lose my way in the castle. Luckily a couple of girls came down forty-five minutes later. They looked around fourteen or fifteen. They gave me directions to the where breakfast was served. I followed their instructions to the letter, but I would have wound up hopelessly lost if a ghost had directed me. He introduced himself as the Friar. Ghost of the Hufflepuff house. He then proceeded to shake my hand enthusiastically, expressing delight on meeting me and regret that I hadn't managed to get sorted into Hufflepuff . I nodded politely and tried to keep myself from shivering and pulling away, lest I offend him. The ghosts in Beauxbatons weren't so friendly.

The moment I entered the 'Great Hall' as The Friar called I understood why it was named that. It was a large cavernous hall. Four tables ran along it's length and another table perpendicular to those four. But that wasn't what made it unique. I looked up and my breath caught. The ceiling was a pure pearly grey and soft young sunbeams lit up patches turning it into the palest blue imaginable. It took me a moment to realize that the ceiling must have been charmed to reflect the sky. Surely the would not leave their dining hall open to the heavens?

Nobody was there to keep me company. Which was exactly how I wanted it. I spent an hour waiting for breakfast to be served an entertained myself thinking about all the possible spells that could have been used on the ceiling. When the food arrived ,out of thin air- just like magic ,I drank a glass of orange juice and left for the library. This time I asked another student, who did look at me weirdly but gave me the directions. I figured that either he wasn't a Gryffindor and was surprised to see a new student or he was one and had witnessed yesterday night's scene.

The librarian glared at me suspiciously, maybe because she hadn't seen me before or because it was so early but I spent a pleasant forty five minutes before I left for my first class of the day.

Charms. It was comforting to start with a subject I liked . I chose a seat near the window and sat down. I removed my text book and went through the content. I had learnt most of the charms before and I knew the theory of the rest. Around me the class started filling up and a few minutes later the professor came in. It was professor Flitwick.

I snuck a peek at the class and groaned, the hope for the perfect first day slipped away. The prominent figures in last night's fiasco were all there, even Lily's boyfriend. James sat to one side surrounded by his friends and Lily sat on the other with her boyfriend who was glaring at the little group. Except him they were all staring at me only to look away when they caught my eye. Except 'Padfoot'. I couldn't look away. My grip on my wand tightened, like any spell could protect me from something purely mental. My mouth was dry, my breathing erratic. I didn't know what we were doing. Fighting for dominance? Drowning?

Finally I looked away. It took lots of effort to tear away and focus on the charm we had to learn .The locomotus charm that helped inanimate objects move, something I'd already learnt the year before.

Professor Flitwick walked around the class giving students advice, when he reached my desk, he stopped, his eyes were wide, an approving smile on his face. My little paper doll was on the desk, in front of me, busting some fancy moves, trying to impress me, I think. I watched as it tried to do the salsa all on its own.

"Well done, Ms. Megh! Well done!" He said, his shrill voice carried over the mutterings, the curses and the sound of failed attempts that resulted, more or less, in explosions.

Most of the class craned their necks to look at my desk where my stupid paper doll had abandoned salsa for hip-hop.

"That was quick", Lily commented dryly. But beneath that I could hear the frustration in her voice. In front of her doll was twitching it's legs. I was impressed and a little jealous. It had taken me three hours to master this spell and if she continued at that rate she'd master it in two.

"I've done this before" I answered her.

Professor Flitwick nodded. "Yes Ms. Evans. Ms. Megh was in an advanced course in charms, back in her old school. She wants to be a healer. Isn't that right Ms. Megh?"

"And your progress, Ms. Evans , is remarkable. Just an hour or two more and you'll get it."

Lily looked mollified and I was glad. Just because I kept my distance, it didn't mean I wanted enemies.

'Padfoot' let out a loud bark-like laugh "Don't worry Lily, you're still the smartest" he said mockingly.

She ignored him.

But then he turned to me. "So you want to be a healer? That explains yesterday"

Was he serious? He was going into that _here_?

I ignored him too. I pretended to be absorbed in my doll's dance moves.

I decided to call him Vicky-short for Vikram.

When the bell rang I was out of my seat and cramming my book back in as fast as I possibly could. Unfortunately it refused to be jammed in and I lost precious seconds trying to fit it in.

Before I could make my escape- they descended.

Potter, Padfoot, The tired boy and another short, round boy.

Lily Evans and Tyler paused at the door.'

Potter spoke.

"I wanted to thank you. For yesterday" With his hazel eyes, messy black hair and glasses he was very attractive. Broad shoulders- maybe an inch taller than Padfoot.

He ran his hands through his hair, making it stand up more and giving it an even messier look.

"Anytime", I said, hoisting my bag on my shoulder. I put a decharmed Vicky into its side pocket.

He stuck out his hand. "I'm James Potter ", he said.

I shook it once and let go quickly. His hands were large and warm and mine in comparison were cold. I was nervous. I hated feeling that way, I had never been anti-social before.

Padfoot put his hand out to. "I'm Sirius ", he said. His hands were warm too, and callused. He didn't acknowledge our stare down but he did hold my hand longer than James did.

"About what?" I asked confused.

"No. That 's my name. Sirius Black "

What about Padfoot? I wanted to ask but I came to a conclusion before I opened my mouth. Padfoot was like Prongs. Some weird nickname thing.

"And this", said James Potter "Is Remus Lupin " as he gestured to the tired looking boy "And Peter Pettigrew " he introduced the last one.

I examined Remus Lupin. He no longer looked tired, he looked positively ill.

My survival instinct was fighting with the healer inside me. There was a pause as if I was expected to say something. My survival instinct kicked in.

"Well I have Muggle Studies in about ten minutes so I'd better get going" I walked past them and then snuck a peek at them. They looked confused.

"Muggle Studies?" said Tyler. "I'm going there too."

I followed him out the door and I was almost grateful for his help.


End file.
